Sunday, April 3, 2011

West of Here

The Book: West Of Here The Author: Jonathan Evison The Dealio: This is a heck of a book. But not in a good way. In fact...I did not finish this book. I figure, as old as I am, I might never make it through this book in my remaining time. That. Plus, I have better ways to spend my time. Like, for example, having root canals done without anesthetic. This story is replete with inaccuracies (people in the 1890's use expressions like 'she has it going on'), cliches (all the Native Americans are either drug- and alcohol-abusers and/or developmentally disabled). Women are either virgins (working towards the liberation of females from objectification. Yup, he does use this term and more than once) or 'whores', as the author invariably states it. Or, incredibly, virgins about to become 'whores', or the other way around. The author seems especially fascinated by his own turn of phrase. So much so that some expressions must have been felt, by him, to be so unique and exciting, that he must use them repeatedly. Example? Glad you asked: 'frisked'. A helluva lot of friskin' going' on: 'He frisked her with his eyes,' then 'he frisked the darkness with his flashlight.' O.K. I do get it. You thought of something to say in a way that enthralls you- if no one else. Now stop it, honey. Now you are just getting on my nerves. The Grading Session: 0 pengies out of 5. Your mileage may vary. I mean, I could not even finish this book- and I was halfway through when I surrendered to inertia. I know I am in deep kimchee when I can not identify with- or care a measly fig about- a single character in the entire story...or, at least, as far as I got with it. Lessons Learned: Great press doth not a great read make. There are so many really terrific reads out there...don't waste your time on a wiffle. Also this, sometimes your blog turns on you and messes up your formatting. Can't do much about it- even called in my best 'puter and formatting guy and no joy. So- for the change in readability of the thaang, I do apologise.